Simulation on function mechanism of T1(Al_2CuLi) precipitate in localized corrosion of Al-Cu-Li alloys

To clarify the corrosion mechanism associated with the precipitate of T1(Al2CuLi)in Al-Li alloys,the simulated bulk precipitate of T1 was fabricated through melting and casting.Its electrochemical behavior and coupling behavior with α(Al)in 3.5% NaCl solution were investigated.Meanwhile,the simulated Al alloy containing T1 particle was prepared and its corrosion morphology was observed.The results show that there exists a dynamic conversion corrosion mechanism associated with the precipitate of T1.At the beginning,the precipitate of T1 is anodic to the alloy base and corrosion occurs on its surface.However,during its corrosion process,its potential moves to a positive direction with immersion time increasing,due to the preferential dissolution of Li and the enrichment of Cu.As a result,the corroded T1 becomes cathodic to the alloy base at a later stage,leading to the anodic dissolution and corrosion of the alloy base at its adjacent periphery.It is suggested that the localized corrosion associated with the precipitate of T1 in Al-Li alloys is caused by the alternate anodic dissolution of the T1 precipitate and the alloy base at its adjacent periphery.

Improvement of strength and ductility of Al-Cu-Li alloy through cryogenic rolling followed by aging

To develop an improved approach in achieving an excellent combination of high strength and ductility,the solutionized Al?Cu?Li plates were subjected to rolling at cryogenic and room temperatures,respectively,to a reduction of83%,followed by aging treatment at160°C.The results indicate that Al?Cu?Li alloys through cryogenic rolling followed by aging treatment possess better mechanical properties.Rolling at cryogenic temperature produces a high density of dislocations because of the suppression of dynamic recovery,which in turn promotes the precipitation of T1(Al2CuLi)precipitates during aging.Such high density of T1precipitates enable effective dislocation pinning,leading to an increase in strength and ductility.In contrast,room temperature rolled alloys after aging treatment exhibit lower strength and ductility due to low density of T1precipitates in the grain interior and high density of T1precipitates around subgrain boundaries.

Identifying the crystal structure of T 1 precipitates in Al-Li-Cu alloys by ab initio calculations and HAADF-STEM imaging

Controversial experimental reports on the crystal structure of T 1 precipitates in Al-Li-Cu alloys have ex-isted for a long time,and all of them can be classified into five models.To clarify its ground-state atomic structure,herein,we have combined high-throughput first-principles calculations and CALPHAD,as well as aberration-corrected HAADF-STEM experiments.Employing the special quasi-random structure(SQS)and supercell approximation(SPA)methods to simulate the local disorder on Al-Cu sub-lattices,we find that none of the present models can satisfy the phase stability in Al-Li-Cu ternary system based on temperature-dependent convex hull analysis.Using the cluster expansion(CE)formulas,structural predic-tions derived from the five-frame models were performed.Subsequently,by introducing the vibrational contribution to the free energy at aging temperatures,we proposed a novel ground-state T 1 structure that maintains a coherent relationship with Al-matrix at the<112>Al orientation.The underlying phase transition between the variants of T 1 precipitates was further discussed.By means of ab initio molecular dynamics(AIMD)simulations,we resolved the controversy regarding the number of atomic layers con-stituting the T 1 phase and acknowledged the existence of Al-Li corrugated layers.The root cause of this structural distortion is triggered by atomic forces and bondings.Our work can have an positive impact on the novel fourth generation of Al-Cu-Li alloy designs by engineering the T 1 strengthening phase.

Quantitative Electron Tomography for Accurate Measurement of Precipitates Microstructure Parameters in Al–Cu–Li Alloys

Mechanical theories show that properties of alloys are strongly dependent on the morphological parameters oftheir strengthening precipitates.However,accurate measurement of precipitates microstructure parameters is still a challenging task.In this article,we develop a quantitative electron tomography method by combining computer vision technology to accurately characterize the three-dimensional microstructure parameters,such as volume fractions,sizes and distributions,of the T_(1) and δ’/θ’/δ’ precipitates in Al-Cu-Li(-Mg) alloys.Since they have extremely large aspect-ratios in shape and large numbers in density upon formation in the Al matrix,these thin plate-like precipitates are difficult to be characterized quantitatively without the assistance of computer vision technology.It is shown that the property difference between two peak-aged states of the alloy can be well explained with the quantitative precipitate parameters correctly measured.Using these correct precipitate data,we also tested the validity of current mechanical models for projecting the contribution of precipitates to the strengths of the alloy,demonstrating that quantitative relations between strength and micro structure parameters still need to be refined.